Genette Tate case may be probed after Black verdict

THE red bike Jennifer Cardy was riding when Robert Black snatched her from a country road could be key to prosecuting the serial killer over another child disappearance, a senior detective has said.

The Scottish serial killer, who was found guilty on Thursday of nine-year-old Jennifer’s murder in Northern Ireland in 1981, has long been the prime suspect in the case of missing 13-year-old Genette Tate, who was last seen in a rural lane in Aylesbeare, Devon, in 1978.

No trace of the newspaper delivery girl has ever been found. All that remained at the scene was her bike and scattered papers.

Black, 64, has already been questioned by Devon and Cornwall police about Genette’s case, but three years ago the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided there was not enough evidence to charge him.

The investigation into her suspected murder could have been given a significant boost by yesterday’s verdict at Armagh Crown Court.

Police believe the circumstances of both Jennifer and Genette’s cases bear remarkable comparison and such “similar fact” evidence may be enough to convince the CPS there is the chance of a conviction

Officers in Devon are now set to review in fine detail all the evidence presented to court during the six-week trial.